Bela Bajaria

As Netflix’s chief content officer, Bela Bajaria holds one of the most influential creative roles in global entertainment. She manages a $20 billion annual budget and oversees every film, series, live event, stand-up special, and video podcast the platform produces across 190 countries and in 50-plus languages. The British-Indian executive joined Netflix in 2016 and steadily rose from head of unscripted content to global head of television before succeeding Ted Sarandos as sole CCO in January 2023. Under her leadership, 2025 became Netflix’s most culturally dominant year on record: KPop Demon Hunters shattered the platform’s all-time viewing record with 518.3 million views; the Stranger Things finale hit No. 1 in 90 countries and drew 133.8 million views in its first three months on the platform; while Squid Game Season 3 logged 60.1 million views in its first three days. The company received 35 Golden Globe nominations and 18 Oscar nominations across six titles, including Best Picture contenders Frankenstein and Train Dreams. Bajaria has simultaneously pushed Netflix into entirely new formats—licensed video podcasts with Spotify, Barstool Sports, and iHeartMedia; live boxing and NFL programming—while championing a $100 million global initiative that has supported over 25,000 people through nearly 300 programs. Netflix delivered $45.2 billion in revenue in 2025, up 16% year over year, with its operating margin expanding to 29.5%.